Going Deeper

One thing that has been encouraging in recent years has been seeing how churches, as well as individuals, have begun to respond to the biblical call to be looking after the world that God has put us in. This has not come easily. As with the debates over evangelism and social justice, so there have been concerns over churches picking up a specifically ‘green’ agenda:
•    Isn’t our primary task evangelism?
•   Doesn’t this distract us from that?
•   Will it cost too much money to make changes?
•   What does it say about how we have been used to doing things?
•   Are we bringing New Age or pagan philosophies into our Church?
and so on…

Thankfully, these concerns and more besides have largely been put to rest and the majority of the main church denominations now have their own developed statements on the environment as well as helpful resources. Mainstream Christian newspapers and magazines have profiled churches that have followed the ‘call to be green’ and it has been encouraging to see the results; in the lives of their members and in the impact that it has on the wider community. Initiatives such as Ecocongregation have played a large part in this and we have lots to thank them for.

If we are going to make a difference in our world then we will do it so much better working with others and not on our own. After all, the Bible always sees the people of God as a corporate entity: yes, made up of individuals, but with those individuals working together to form a body: a sum that is far larger than the parts.

Maybe you are looking at this section because you belong to a church that is keen to become more ecologically sensitive and you are looking for ideas. Possibly the most important thing you can do to get started is form a Green Group with people in your church who are wanting to move this forward. As it says in activities, it is best if at all possible to make sure that someone in a position of leadership (your vicar, pastor, member of the leadership team) is a part of that group. This group will become the hub of the church’s green life and can be involved in carrying out a green audit, suggesting the teaching programme and so on.

Another important point is that caring for creation should not be an added on activity within your church, but should be something that permeates the whole of your church’s life, whether that be in the children’s work, the compiling of the church newsletter, the worship content and so on. Like prayer, it isn’t something to be done occasionally and ‘ticked off’ as having been achieved, but should run through and be considered at every level and in every activity. In this way we can learn that creation care is not a separate thing but is part of how we do our worship, mission, discipleship etc.

One of the suggestions in worship is to join with another church for a service. Environmental concerns offer a great potential for cross-church unity. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see all the churches in your area coming together to work on environmental issues, both local and global?!

There is also great potential for having an impact on your community. There are lots of suggestions as to ways in which you could do that, whether it is by you offering recycling facilities, holding an ‘eco day’, clearing and planting a disused piece of ground, holding open meetings on particular topics, opening up your grounds for people to use or whatever it is. The result is best summed up in the words of someone who was involved in a church that gained an Ecocongregation award, who said that the whole process had, ‘enabled me to bring the rest of my life into the church and it enabled me to take the life of the church out into the community.’

Maybe, however, you are looking with longing at this category of Church, wishing that your church might do some of these things. Don’t give up hope! Your example is the thing that will make the most amount of difference, lived with humility and graciousness towards those who ‘just don’t get it’! One idea would be to buy your vicar/pastor/church leader a copy of Dave Bookless’ Planetwise and ask to get together with her/him when they have read it, to talk about it together and see how they might bring what it says into your church.

Whatever stage your church is at, these suggestions are here for you and your church to use in whatever way most helps the life of your church become more involved in taking care of God’s creation and we would love to hear from you. Email us, drop a note on the forum, let us have your ideas, tell us of anything else you do that goes well, let us know what suggestions are helpful and if there are any that don’t work so well. In short, please let us know how you get on!

Ruth Valerio, 10/05/2009